


The Tug in Their Chests

by HoneyBeeez



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (i was so unsure about what that was called but. here we are), Fantasy AU, Frotting, Kissing, M/M, Magic AU, Original au, adventurer!kyoutani, baths, kunimi runs a bathhouse hotel combo and hes so done with both of them, oh i forgot yachi is a shapeshifting witch that lives in the Wilds, shigeru just wants a clean lover. i dont think ken likes baths too much, trader!yahaba
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 04:11:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15987365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyBeeez/pseuds/HoneyBeeez
Summary: Shigeru took the road that was prepared for him, even though being a trader was less than conventional. Still, trading and travelling all around the nation had it's perks. But also it's downfalls.Kentarou preferred the road that was unspecified, one that he would discover himself, even if that meant danger. Even if that meant not seeing Shigeru for months at a time.As painful as it is, they still have each other, can feel each other, through the tugs in their chests.





	The Tug in Their Chests

**Author's Note:**

> hello everybody!!! this is very shameless of me!!  
> this world is inspired by a original work i wrote earlier this year! i tried to make sure this fic didn't rely too heavily on the "canon" that i made up, so i hope you enjoy!! and if anyone wants to read the original work, please let me know and i'd be happy to post it and provide a link here!  
> also "love in the middle of a firefight" is a very good song and heavily inspired me. go take a listen!  
> alright!! happy reading, everyone!!

The busy streets of Seijou are the easiest to navigate for Kentarou. He weaves out of people’s and carriages’ ways as naturally as breathing, the worn down cobblestone streets familiar and different all at the same time. It’s been a while since he’s been back in the town and it’s like his body aches with the knowledge. 

He’s home, for now. And that’s all that matters.

Kentarou hears his name being called somewhere in the crowd, so he follows the sound with his eyes as much as he can and raises his hand in greeting. He doesn’t know who they are, or what they want with him, but they don’t pursue him so it must not be that important. He’s too tired to deal with anyone aside from who he’s looking for, anyways.

The crowded streets fade away the farther into Seijou that Kentarou treks, the incessant chatter and the dusty air left behind with it. Jagged shops and squat houses are left in the aftermath of the town, and even though there’s not a soul in sight, Kentarou feels a thrum of life all around him. It’s comforting, like this. With the buildings he used to know like the lines on his palms and the town he thought he would never leave all those years ago.

He winds down an alley,  _ the _ alley. It’s been months since he’d last been here, the last time he’d seen Shigeru. The thought of seeing him once more makes Kentarou’s breath catch in his chest, but that’s nothing new. That’s just Shigeru. 

He feels himself stumble over his road-weary feet, and slumps down to the dirt beneath him.

The tug between his ribs that led him back to Seijou eases in its urgency, and Kentarou lets out a sigh at the sudden slack. It’s been months, and he doesn’t even know Shigeru’s trading routes or when he’s usually back in Seijou throughout the year. He’s kind of ashamed that he hasn’t asked yet. There’s no guarantee that Shigeru is in Seijou, but that’s the risk Kentarou’s willing to take.

There wasn’t any harm in coming into the town, in any case. He could disappear back into the bordering Wilds until it was time, until he could see him again.

It’s weird, how content Kentarou thinks he’d be if he’d just get a glimpse of Shigeru’s head through the crowd. A rush of reassurance pools into his stomach at the thought, and he nearly drowns in it. 

Kentarou’s eyelids sag until he doesn’t have the strength to keep them open anymore... 

And then a boot is nudging at his shin and a hand is sinking into Kentarou’s unkempt hair and suddenly  _ pulls _ . A shocked breath slips its way through Kentarou’s grit teeth at the pain. 

“It  _ is _ you,” a voice sighs, sounding relieved. The shadows in the alleyway make it hard for Kentarou to make out who’s holding him, but the tug is back in his chest like something’s trying to break through his skin, and he doesn’t have to ask  _ who _ .

“Shigeru,” Kentarou says, the word out of his mouth before he can really register it. His hand flies up, grabbing at Shigeru’s wrist, but the man drops him and takes a step back before they can touch.

“You’re fucking filthy, Ken,” Shigeru chastises, clearly disgusted.

“Fancy seeing you, too,” Kentarou mutters, tongue still heavy with sleep, as he clambers to his feet.

“Honestly, where’ve you been? A pig sty?” Shigeru continues, wincing a bit as Kentarou shuffles closer. 

“The Wilds aren’t that much of a sty as people think,” Kentarou quips, raising his arms over his head and humming a bit as he feels the muscles in his back protest at the movement. 

“The Wilds?” Shigeru asks after a beat. “The  _ Karasuno _ Wilds?  _ Those _ Wilds?”

“What other Wilds do you know of?”

“Ken, you could have  _ died _ !”

“Maybe,” Kentarou laughs, dodging Shigeru’s sad attempt to hit his arm. “But having friends in weird places has its perks, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, gimme a heads-up the next time you decided to head into the Wilds,” Shigeru says, reaching out to him. He hesitates at the last second, looking Kentarou over swiftly, before grabbing his collar. “I’ll go with and give them a ‘thanks for making sure my lover didn’t die’ candle.”

“You really do sell everything,” Kentarou says through a smile. He leans forward, aiming for a kiss, but Shigeru snubs him, tugging on his collar and making him stumble over an awkward step.

“Nope, no, you’re disgusting,” Shigeru says, continuing his way down the alley. Kentarou is dragged along for a couple steps, before Shigeru lets go of him. 

His chest feels too full to breathe. He follows after Shigeru wordlessly, as if he had no other choice.

“What  _ friends _ do you have in the Wilds, anyways?” Shigeru mutters as they slip onto the street once more. Kentarou would make fun of him for asking, for being so hung up about his time in the Wilds, but he knows him too well for that. Shigeru’s only asking because he’s  _ worried _ . Nothing good ever happened to people who ventured into the Wilds, and everyone knew that. 

“Took care of some crows when we were kids,” Kentarou explained, keeping a fair distance behind Shigeru and talking louder to compensate for it. “How was I supposed to know they were wizards?”

“You accidentally befriending wizards disguised as crows sounds… exactly like you,” Shigeru admits with a sigh, shaking his head as Kentarou laughs at him.

“I was taken to them when I first entered the Wilds,” Kentarou admits, rubbing the back of his head as the last of his laughter drips off his tongue. “If Hitoka didn’t remember me, I’d probably be dead.”

“I really do owe them that candle,” Shigeru mutters, shaking his head. “Really, Kentarou, you have to be more careful. You’re gonna wind up killed one day and I’ll have no idea.” There’s seriousness and sorrow mixed in with the quip, so much so that the tugging in his chest twinges with his guilt. Kentarou wants to grab his hand, but he knows Shigeru would never allow it. 

“I never stumble into  _ too  _ much trouble,” Kentarou says, trying to loosen the scowl that’s no doubt on Shigeru’s face right about now. “I’ve got you telling me the way,” he adds, and Shigeru looks over his shoulder at Kentarou in time to see him press his palm to his chest. 

“I wish you’d just  _ come with us _ ,” Shigeru huffs.

“You know I can’t stand Oikawa for that long.”

“He’s really not that bad once you get used to him.”

“And I can’t be doin’ the same thing for too long. You know that.”

“Sometimes I wish you were like the rest of us,” Shigeru replies, listless. “Just letting every day roll by and doing what you need to, going through the motions, falling into a pattern.” Shigeru lets out a defeated sigh, like his argument ran out of energy, before he continues. “Trading is the most excitement a normal person would get out of life, but… I know. I  _ know  _ you. It would kill you to be stuck with the same people, on the same route.” 

“It’s better like this,” Kentarou says reassuringly, hating the sadness that creeps into Shigeru’s voice. 

“It’s not,” Shigeru refuses. “The tug’s the only thing that lets me know you’re still alive. And if you’re going to be this filthy every time we meet, I’m going to have to call this off.”

“You wouldn’t even think about it.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Shigeru admits, a smile curling at his lips. “But one day Kunimi  _ is _ going to ban us both from the bath house.”

“You’re his best-paying customer,” Kentarou says with a shake of his head. Shigeru stops, letting Kentarou fall into step with him, before reaching over and pinching his nose.

“Only the best for you,” he croons, making Kentarou shake his head with a mere suggestion of movement of his fingers. Kentarou brushes him off, laughing as they cross the street and slip into the brick-laid building ahead of them.

“How am I not surprised?” a bored voice calls from the corner as they walk in. Kunimi looks as tired as he has been for years, but Kentarou guesses that working in the same warm building could do that to someone. It’s not a facade, not really, but Kentarou knows how dangerous he can be. It’s no wonder he can run his business on his own in the back alleys of Seijou and keep it standing. 

“Not interested in your only source of fixed income?” Kentarou quips, following Shigeru as he makes his way to Kunimi’s counter. They clasp hands quickly in greeting, before Shigeru starts rummaging through his coin pouch.

“ _ You two _ need to be fixed,” Kunimi says, his glare settling squarely on Kentarou. He can’t tell if the look is in good fun or not. “Don’t make a mess this time. I’d rather not have to put two of my best accommodations on hold because some animalistic duo decided to mark their territory… again.”

“I paid accordingly for that!” Shigeru says, red rising high on his cheeks. He plucks several gold coin from his pouch and drops them into Kunimi’s already waiting palm.

“Nothing,” Kunimi says gravely, “will heal the emotional scarring I went through because of it, though.”

“It wasn’t even that bad,” Kentarou dismisses with a click of his tongue. 

“Says you,” Kunimi says, with a roll of his eyes. “I take it I don’t have to show you where everything is?” he asks, turning his attention back to Shigeru. 

“We’re good,” he replies with a wave of his hand. “And Kunimi, I really am sorry about last time. If you stop by the market tomorrow, I’ll make sure you get first pick--”

“I was joking, Yahaba,” Kunimi cuts him off. “Have fun.”

“Thanks, Kunimi,” Shigeru and Kentarou mutter together, before Shigeru grabs Kentarou’s collar once more and drags him down the adjacent hallway.

The hallway opens up to the bath floor, where the ceiling is lined with blobs of water and the floors are pitted into individual, stone-laid holes. Kentarou's amazed every time he looks at the watery ceiling; he doesn't know how much magical power it takes to keep the water suspended in the air like that, or _warm_ , for that matter, but Kunimi manages it all on his own.

There's not enough time to marvel, though, because Shigeru bypasses the public bath room with ease and tugs him through an oak door.

The room that opens up for them is barren until Shigeru places his hand on the wall. The place where his skin touches stone automatically illuminates, shimmering like gemstones in the light of a warm fire, until the glow trickles from the spot, quickly bringing the room to life in it's comforting light. Bubbles of water hover near the ceiling of this room, too, only some smaller bubbles are tinged green and yellow.

The floor dips into a waist-deep pool that was covered in delicate, colorful tiles. Kentarou vaguely wishes that the sight wasn't familiar.

“You know, you don't have to get this every time,” Kentarou says, gesturing towards the private bath. “Yeah, it's pretty but…” he lets the words die off his tongue. He can't find it in him to tell Shigeru that the luxury is a waste of money.

“Well, I can’t have you trashing the public facilities now, can I?” Shigeru says, a huff of laughter in his voice. “Plus, this is safer.” Kentarou doesn’t ask about what they’re safe from, instead watching as Shigeru points at two water bulges and jerks his hand down towards the pool.

Right on cue, the bubbles move, gliding gracefully down until they pop, their contents spilling unceremoniously into the tiled divot. Frothy green bubbles hover on top of the steaming water. The room is instantly warmer, from the water’s heat and from the promise of what’s to come. 

“What are you waiting for, Wilds Boy?” Shigeru says, stooping down to roll up the hems of his trousers. “Strip.”

That command was everything Kentarou was waiting for.

Without hesitation, Kentarou shucks off his clothes and leaves them in a tangled heap on the floor, his knives and his feather-light money pouch clattering down with them, their metal clanking breaking the temporary silence. Shigeru’s gaze set him on fire with how hot it burns on his skin. The tug in his chest is almost painful. 

Kentarou wants to close the distance between them, wants everything of Shigeru’s under his fingertips, his lips, but he knows that it’s not how it works. It’s never how this works.

Reluctantly, with a spark lit in his gut and his eyes never losing sight of Shigeru, he slips into the warm water. 

Shigeru lets out a laugh, folding his pants’ cuffs over his knees, and sits by the edge of the pool. His legs fall into the water, and Kentarou wastes no time on slotting himself into the space between them.

“Eager, aren’t we?” Shigeru murmurs, absentmindedly pointing towards the ceiling and hailing down another smaller, bright green bubble. 

“You’ve been waiting for this just as much as I have,” Kentarou argues, his gaze falling to Shigeru’s lips as he reaches for the collar of his pristine tunic. 

Shigeru bats his hand away deftly, his lips curling into a smile as he sticks his other hand straight into the green bubble. When he pulls it away again, the green soap is clinging to his palm and fingers. 

“I’m not doing anything until you’re clean,” Shigeru murmurs. 

A foot, under the water, nudges the back of Kentarou’s thigh and, for a brief second, Kentarou hates Shigeru’s stubbornness. But he knows he can’t deny him anything. Not even this. 

Pulling in a deep breath, Kentarou submerges himself in the water, staying under for as long as possible before he resurfaces once more. 

“I think you’re drowning every time,” Shigeru laughs gently, waiting for Kentarou to wipe the water from his eyes before he works the soap between his hands and slips them into Kentarou’s hair. 

“You know I’d never let that happen,” Kentarou responds, his voice soft, blissful, from the sensation of Shigeru’s fingers working almost reverently against his scalp. Shigeru lets him lean towards him, close enough to touch, but Kentarou doesn’t. He can’t. His eyes drift close as Shigeru’s fingers card through the hair at the back of his neck, as Shigeru’s ankles hook just above his knees and pull him closer. Kentarou hates that it’s tile pressing up against his front instead of Shigeru.

There’s a subtle pressure on his shoulders, and Kentarou takes the cue, submerging himself back into the water, this time scrubbing his own hair free of the pale green suds that riddles it. 

When Kentarou comes back up for air, Shigeru has pulled away from the pool completely, his legs drying on the ground in front of him, and the green bubble is nudging insistently at Kentarou's shoulder, per Shigeru’s movements. 

“You’re such a fuckin’ tease,” Kentarou huffs, shoving his hand into the bubble and withdrawing some of the green substance from it. He rubs it between his hands quickly before smacking it onto his shoulders and chest.

“I can’t do everything for you, you big baby,” Shigeru says, his words choked by laughter. “You have to learn how to take care of yourself if you’re gonna be out on your own.”

“I’m not on my own,” Kentarou says, bringing his hand up from where he was scrubbing at his thighs and pressing it to his chest. “I have you, remember?”

“That’s not the same thing,” Shigeru frowns. 

“It could be,” Kentarou quips, balancing on one foot in the water so he could wash the other. “All I need is your voice in my ear, and an orb of your judgmental frown following me around.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Shigeru sneers, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know  _ that  _ much magic.”

“You mean you haven’t learned anything new on the old trading route?” Kentarou asks, not helping the way his smile spreads across his face.

“Like the crow wizards in the Wilds taught  _ you _ anything,” Shigeru replies, and Kentarou sticks his tongue out at him before dunking beneath the water once more. 

There’s a fluffy towel dangling near his head by the time he re-emerges from the water. Kentarou takes it, careful not to let the edges touch the water, and drapes it over his head as he shuffles his way out of the pool. He dries himself silently, the towel shifting to his shoulders, then chest, then hips. He can practically feel Shigeru’s gaze sizzle on his skin as he works. 

“There,” Shigeru says, getting Kentarou’s attention. “See?” He ambles his way to Kentarou’s side, his hands coming up to cradle his face. His hands burn with a comfortable, electrifying warmth. “Getting clean isn’t too hard, is it?” There’s a smirk on his face as he speaks and Kentarou wastes no time in making the expression crumble. 

The tug in his chest  _ sings  _ as he leans forward,  _ finally _ closing the distance between them. Their lips press together perfectly like a greeting before they get greedy. Shigeru’s hands slide towards the back of his head, threading his fingers through the still-damp strands, as he parts his lips, his tongue nudging hotly into Kentarou’s mouth. 

The towel in Kentarou’s hands drops, forgotten, as he pulls Shigeru’s hips forward, as he pulls at Shigeru’s neatly tucked-in tunic, as he sighs at the feeling of Shigeru’s tongue curling around his own and his fingers finding Shigeru’s bare skin. 

“It’s not hard,” Kentarou whispers, barely pulling away from the kiss and shifting instead to kiss the corner of Shigeru’s mouth, the line of his jaw. “But you could be,” he sighs, right in Shigeru’s ear. His hands tense where they’re still tangled in Kentarou’s hair. 

“That’s the worst--” Shigeru starts before his voice breaks as Kentarou kisses down his neck. Kentarou tugs at Shigeru’s collar as his lips catch the edge, wanting more, moving to kiss the hollow before Shigeru’s shoulder, before Shigeru yanks quickly, painfully at his hair. “Not here,” Shigeru gasps, and if Kentarou didn’t know better, he would say it sounded like a plea. But it wasn’t. Yahaba Shigeru doesn’t  _ plead _ . “Upstairs.”

He  _ commands _ . 

With a swift kiss, Kentarou turns and situates the towel around his waist before stooping down and gathering his clothes. Shigeru takes his knives and his pouch and sets them on top of Kentarou’s pile before leading him out of the private bath. 

Kentarou knows the way to their typically reserved room by now, but he likes the way Shigeru’s fingers curl around his bare waist like a promise that doesn’t want to be forgotten. As if Kentarou would forget. 

They trudge up a tiny stairwell to the second floor, slipping down the hallway and easily finding the room with the silver doorknob. When Kentarou reaches to open it, it stays stubbornly shut, the knob refusing to budge. 

“You do this every time,” Shigeru laughs, shaking his head as he touches his fingers to the metal. Instantly, the doorknob glows, it’s light illuminating Shigeru’s fingers and spilling into the dark wood of the door, itself. “You know Kunimi only lets in the people who pay,” he adds, swinging the door open easily and gesturing for Kentarou to enter.

“There’s no harm in trying,” Kentarou shrugs, walking into the familiar room and depositing his things onto the desk in the corner. “You gotta be at the market at dawn?” he asks as he turns around, only to be met with Shigeru shucking off his vest and tunic.

“Yeah, otherwise Oikawa will murder me,” Shigeru grumbles, looking almost bitter at the prospect of leaving. 

“We have plenty of time before then,” Kentarou murmurs, gravitating towards Shigeru, letting his hands trail from Shigeru’s chest to his hips, reveling in the warmth of his skin, the warmth the tug has been craving during the months they were apart.

“Plenty,” Shigeru echoes, heat thick in his voice.

Kentarou gives into the tug once more, surging forward so eagerly that he nearly misses Shigeru’s lips completely. They tangle around each other easily, Kentarou knows they’ve had plenty of practice to know how, Shigeru’s arms encircling his neck and one leg hiking up over Kentarou’s hip until he gets the hint, his hands slipping towards the back of Shigeru’s thighs and hefting him into his arms. 

Blindly, refusing to move an inch away from Shigeru’s lips, Kentarou shuffles towards the bed in the center of the room. He flops over on top of it, Shigeru laughing into their kiss as it breaks momentarily, humming when Kentarou claims his mouth again. 

The tug fades into the background as they press closer. Kentarou nearly destroys Shigeru’s trousers in his efforts to get them off before tossing them to the floor inconsequentially. Their hips slot together, Shigeru’s legs wrapped around Kentarou’s hips, Shigeru’s hands slipping from his cheeks to his chest as they kiss, hungry, Kentarou grasping at Shigeru’s silver hair as much as he could while his forearms bore his weight. 

Hot. Familiar. Perfect. Why would they be anything else?

Kentarou knows they’ve come a long way from the simple street urchin and the merchant’s kid they used to be. They were so much more now, so much so that it overflowed, the tug pulling and pulling until they could share its weight together. Their wants urged them apart, unable to find middle ground between travelling throughout the land on a straight path and exploring the unknown, but the tug held them together. They held themselves together.

They’ll always hold themselves. At least Kentarou knows he’ll hold on for as long as he can, his hips stuttering unashamedly against Shigeru’s, his cock rutting insistently against the palm that held them both, the tug unravelling for a moment, just slightly, as they moan in tandem and shudder through their bliss. 

Between gasping for air and kissing sweetly, their movements sluggish and awkward, the tug rewinds itself in their chests. 

Kentarou wouldn’t have it any other way. They have until dawn, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> honestly im kind of proud and horrified at the same time at this (i think this is sooo OOC smh), so thank you so much for reading!! please leave a comment and tell me what you think!!! or come yell at me on my tumblr (hijackedhoneybeeez) OR my kyouhaba sideblog, haikyouhaba!!!  
> your situation now is NOT where you are going to end up being forever. keep moving forward!!!  
> love ya bunches!!  
> -HB


End file.
